Her Fight For Life- Lucy's CDH Battle

Lucille Rayne Dovin is due in late January of 2022. Unfortunately her first days of life will be full of challenges as she will be born with a rare birth defect known as CDH. Congenital diaphragmatic hernia occurs when a hole develops in the thin muscle that seperates her chest and abdomen. When this gap forms it allows the abdominal organs to push into the chest cavity.

For little Lucy Rayne, this means that portions of her intestines as well as her stomach have moved into her chest causing her heart to be displaced and her lungs to be underdeveloped. In her first moments of life she will not take a single breath without medical intervention.

Within a week of birth Lucy will need major surgery. Babies born with CDH spend an average of 3-4 months in the NICU before their parents can take them home.

As much as we hope that COVID-19 is on a downswing come January there is a real possibility that any lodging assistance may not be available for our family. This time last year the Ronald McDonald house was unable to aid families due to COVID-19.

Lucy will need to be delivered in Peoria for the best chance of survival. Our family lives seventy miles from this hospital.

While we are trying our best to remain positive for Lucy and her four year old sister we face mounting expenses relating to mother and baby's care. Any assistance at all would be an indescribable weight off our shoulders.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please help us share Lucy's Journey.